


311

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: But you should also no that characters will not stay dead because im a sucker for a happy ending, Gen, NOT endgame compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, enough tagging lets go, except mcu style, ill try not to get too crazy with the whole groundhog day thing, my favorite episode of supernatural is mystery spot, or infinity war for that matter, set in that perfect post homecoming but pre iw but the rogue avengers are back universe, so basically this is a mystery spot au, you should know before reading this i have no regrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-06-26 20:56:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19776265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The first time Peter Parker dies is devastating.The second time is just as bad.The third time has Tony wondering if there's a way out of this loop that doesn't end with Peter dead.orThe Mystery Spot AU no one asked for.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> For real though, this fic contains graphic descriptions of death. The death's are not permanent, as per the whole groundhog day premise but they do happen. In detail. Thanks for reading!

1.

Tony wakes up on the couch in the lab. 

It takes him a few seconds to remember how he got there. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he glances around the messy workspace. Designs for the latest spider suit sit on the nearest bench and he realizes he must have fallen asleep after the first few hours of working on Peter’s suit.

Peter.

He knows the kid was here. It was Friday yesterday so they were doing upgrades and various repairs on the kids super-outfit. He’s not here now though. 

Tony sits up and a blanket he knows he did not fall asleep with slides to the ground.

“Friday?” He asks, throwing the blanket over the back of the couch, “Where’s the Spiderkid?”

“Peter is in the kitchen with Ms. Potts,” Friday replies, “Would you like me to tell them you are awake?”

Tony waves her off, “Nope, I’m headed there anyways.”

He makes his way to the elevator kicking stray tools and papers under the tables in the lab as he goes and heads up to the kitchen where Peter and Pepper are making breakfast in the kitchen as promised.

“No see,” Peter is saying, “He didn’t kill him though. He became Vader.”

“Really?” Pepper asks.

She’s humoring him. She’s seen all seven movies. But the thought makes Tony smile. 

“What’s cooking?” He asks, stepping into the room. 

“Mr. Stark!” Peter beams.

“Good morning,” Pepper says, also smiling.

It’s all so cheesy and good that Tony thinks this can’t possibly be his life. But here is his fiancée, the love of his life, and his super-powered mentee making breakfast together while they wait for him to wake up.

“Hey kiddo, Morning Pep,” He says, the air smells like toast and scrambled eggs.

“We made breakfast.” Peter chirps, poking at the eggs in the pan he’s holding.

“I see that.” Tony says.

“Hungry?” Pepper asks, holding out a plate.

“Starving.” He replies, taking the plate and Peter’s pan.

“Hey!” Peter squawks, “Those were my eggs!”

“Snooze you lose Spiderkid.” Tony tells him, heaping just enough eggs on his plate to get him through the morning and leaving the rest for Mr. Metabolism behind him.

Peter takes the pan back gratefully and scoops his own plate. Pepper hands the kid six pieces of toast and the three settle in for breakfast.

There’s food on the table, sunlight streaming in past the curtains, and everything is perfect.

Until he gets the call from shield.

Pepper has left for some meeting that apparently couldn’t wait until tomorrow, so Peter and Tony sit on the couch watching a movie. Peter is somehow still eating despite having breakfast less than three hours ago. Tony’s actually a bit impressed, the kid could probably beat Steve in a competition if it ever came down to it.

They’re halfway through the film and down one bowl of popcorn when his phone starts ringing.

The first time it goes off, he sends it to voicemail without looking at the screen. Peter shoots him a glare at the interruption, and he shrugs apologetically.

It rings again almost immediately, and Tony sends it to voicemail for the second time. Who could possibly be calling him on a Saturday afternoon, especially one that he specifically requested off? It’s rude.

Peter sits up and glances at the phone, “What if it’s imp-”

The phone goes off again and this time, Tony answers.

“This better be good.” He says.

“Stark.” Hill says.

“This isn’t going to be good,” he sighs.

“Afraid not,” She replies, “We’ve got a situation to take care of.”

She gives him the rundown. Pretty standard stuff. An ugly giant beast of unknown origin is rampaging through fifth avenue and they’re calling him in to stop it. Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are all already on the scene and War Machine is on his way.

“Bring Spiderman,” Hill says, “We could use all the help we can get.”

“Spiderman is not coming.” Tony tells her flatly.

But Peter who is sitting next to him and has apparently heard everything, already has his hands in his backpack, pulling out his suit.

“I can help,” Peter says.

“No you can’t.” Tony says, shutting off his phone and resting on the table while he calls for a suit.

“You heard the lady on the phone. You guys need help, I can help.” Peter insists.

“I don’t want to hear it. Peter, go home.” Tony says.

“I’m not going home,” Peter replies, “If you leave me I’ll show up anyways. You might as well tell me what’s going on so I at least know what we’re fighting.”

Tony looks down at the kid to find his expression is set and Tony knows if he picks this battle he won’t make it to the one raging in Manhattan. 

So he sighs and says, “Text your Aunt, tell her what’s happening, I don’t want another phone call like last time, then suit up and I’ll fill you in on the way.”

When they arrive on scene Tony immediately regrets bringing Peter. The thing is 20 feet tall easy and it’s got arms like tree trunks. It’s grey body is covered in a thick layer of skin similar to armor, Steve and Nat’s weapons do nothing aside from annoying the creature but Rhodey seems to have some luck with blaster fire so Tony decides that’s where he’ll start. He directs Peter towards the civilians on the street, ordering him to get them clear of the fighting and Peter nods, speeding off like a shot. Tony allows himself a few seconds of relief that Peter won’t actually be fighting this thing and then gets to work.

“What’s the deal here, Cap?” He asks over the comms.

“The armors thick,” comes the response, “War Machine is making progress with explosives but it’s slow going. Could really use some heavy fire over here.”

“I think I can help with that.” Tony grins, flying directly into the action.

Caps right, the armor is about a foot thick on the creatures back and chest and about one and a half feet deep on its neck and head. He targets the thinnest point, just under a foot thick, on the creatures back and fires.

The smell of burning flesh fills the air and the creature screeches.

“Keep it’s attention on the ground I can make it through the armor here.” Tony calls out.

“Copy,” Cap replies, “Wilson, Rhodes, keep it’s arms busy, Nat and I will keep its focus on us.”

“Got it,” Wilson says, streaking past Tony to block a swing of the creature’s arm for him.

He can see the progress already, he’s almost halfway through. He’s beginning to wonder if shield even needed them for this in the first place when Friday interrupts.

“Boss,” Fridays voice is urgent, “You’re needed on-“

“Not now Fri,” Tony tells her, gritting his teeth and dodging a flailing arm as he continues to burn a hole through the things armor, “Have Cap take care of it.”

“Boss.” Friday insists, “You’re needed on the ground, on fifth avenue, about 700 feet behind you, setting coordinates now-”

“What?” He ducks under another swing of the monsters arm, “Friday, seriously? Override and send Cap.”

“If you would let me finish,” Friday says and Tony hesitates, frankly a bit surprised by how frustrated his AI sounds, “It’s Spiderman.”

Tony’s backed out of the fight and speeding towards the location lit up on his screen before his mind can catch up with her words.

“Why didn’t you lead with that? Friday what’s going on?” He asks.

“Spiderman is currently still conscious and Karen is sending damage reports but…” Friday hesitates, “It’s not looking good, Boss.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Tony demands, panic rising in his chest.

He lands hard in the street, bits of rubble and asphalt sent flying in his wake. Immediately his screen lights up as he scans the area until his eyes find what Friday was talking about.

It’s Spiderman, half buried under a large chunk of building, unmoving. 

“Peter!” He shouts, rushing over to the kid.

He places his hands on the block of cement pinning Spiderman to the ground and is about to lift when Friday quietly interrupts, “I wouldn’t do that, Boss.”

“What? Why not?” Tony asks, Peter’s stuck for crying out loud, he needs to get him out get him somewhere safe.

“Karen is reporting that the block of cement is keeping Peter from bleeding out. If it is removed, he will die in a matter of seconds.”

Tony feels a pit form in his stomach, “What about his healing? He’s heals faster than normal people.”

“Peter’s healing factor is the only reason he is alive now. Any normal person in this situation would be dead. Boss,” Friday says quietly, “Karen is reporting catastrophic damage. I have contacted emergency services, but it is unlikely anyone will arrive in time. Peters heart rate is elevated and he is showing signs of panic. Karen is suggesting it is time to say your goodbyes.”

“What!?” Tony shouts, “No. It’s not- why would you say- get, get me out of the suit, Fri, dammit get me out of the suit.”

The suit hisses open and Tony stumbles out, determined to prove Friday wrong. He can save Peter. This is not the end. He can stop whatever bleeding needs to be stopped, set whichever bones are broken, fix whatever needs to be fixed. He falls to his knees next to Peter and fumbles for the kids mask. He needs to see Peters face, he needs to know he’s still alive.

“No,” Peter protests weakly and Tony bites back a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice.

“Relax Pete it’s just me. You’re going to be okay I just need you to stay awake for me alright?” 

“T’ny?” The kid asks.

“Yeah kid,” Tony says, pulling the mask off Peter’s face.

He immediately wishes he’d just left the thing alone. 

Peters face is a mess of bruises and a blood cell must have burst in one of his eyes or something because the entire thing is red and slow to move. Peter focuses on Tony but his gaze is hazy and confused. 

“Hurts,” He says and Tony’s heart breaks.

He places a hand on Peter’s sweaty forehead and brushes shaking fingers through his hair, “I know kid but help is on its way you gotta keep your eyes open.”

“’M scared,” Peter whispers, and the cough following the words is wet.

“Of what?” Tony asks, wiping the blood from the corner of Peters mouth, “You’re going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“M I dying?” Peter asks, his eyes sliding over to the block of cement.

“Peter.” Tony says sharply.

But the truth is he’s not so sure anymore. Now that he’s gotten confirmation the kid is still breathing, he has the time to look him over and realize that Friday was right, it doesn’t look good. The cement crushing Peters right side is striped with lines of rebar, one of which has gone straight through his ribcage. It probably doesn’t help anything that the rebar is only pushed deeper with every shaky breath the kid takes. 

“Pl’s d’n’t be mad,” Peter mumbles, his breathing is so shallow, “’M s’rry.”

“No.” Tony says, “No. Kid.”

Peter’s breathing slows and his eyes lose their focus.

“Kid. Peter. Pete?” Tony tries every name he can think to get Peters attention back on him.

Peter stops breathing.

“No.” Tony says, “No. Nope. Peter you need to listen to me you gotta breathe.”

Peter doesn’t answer. His eyes are open but they aren’t looking at anything.

“Peter. Keep breathing. Come on kid. Why don’t you ever listen to what I tell you dammit, you need to breathe, Pete.”

“Tony,” A hand rests on his shoulder.

“He’s not listening to me.” Tony insists, frustrated, “He never listens. I told him to go home today. He doesn’t listen.”

Off in the distance a woman is screaming. Tony had thought Peter rounded up all the civilians but clearly he’d been… interrupted. He wishes she would shut up. He can’t hear Peters heartbeat when she’s screaming like that.

The hand on his shoulder pulls him backwards, away from Peter and he struggles against it.

“Tony, stop it.” The hand says, “Stop it, he can’t hear you.”

“No.” Tony argues, “He’s just not listening. He’s not- he can’t be-“

Dead.

Tony’s heart skips several beats at the realization. Peter’s dead. He’s not breathing. He’s not moving. And he’s certainly not listening.

“No.” Tony says again, “It’s not- that’s not-“

“Tony I’m so sorry, Peter is- was a good kid, I know-,” the voice, the captain, it’s Steve, says sadly.

“No you don’t.” Tony cuts him off, he knows it’s unfair to be angry, but how could Steve even begin to pretend he knows anything about how he’s feeling right now, “You don’t know.”

“Tony…” Steve begins, voice soft and understanding, but then his words are directed at someone else, “Yeah. Can you get him out of here? Nat and Sam will help me finish this up.”

And then Rhodey is there, pulling Tony to his feet, telling him it’s going to be okay despite the fact that he can see Peter’s body laying limp in the street. Rhodey is leading him away, away from the body, away from the sounds of the fight still going on behind them and how can the fight still be going on? Haven’t they lost already?

Tony makes the mistake of looking back at the beast still tearing up Manhattan and he sees red. That thing, that… whatever it is, it killed Peter. It killed Peter and it doesn’t even care, it’s not even bothered, it just keeps swinging at more buildings, hurting more people. People that Peter died trying to save. 

“I’m going to kill it.” He says, “I don’t care what it is tell Cap to clear the area I’m going to kill that thing.”

“Tony,” Rhodey warns, “I know you’re upset but please think about this first. Peter wouldn’t want you to-”

The mention of Peter is enough to send Tony hurtling back towards the creature. He’s going to kill it. He lands on the back of the creatures neck and starts burning his way through the armor there. It was working earlier it will work now. And it does work. The thing focuses all it’s attention on him, trying to swat him away with it’s meaty arms. None of the hits land though. Rhodes and Sam make sure of that. 

Tony is about one and a half feet deep in the creatures neck when he sees something nestled there within the grey flesh of the beast. It’s a hunk of yellow metallic looking material so colorful and out of place in all the grey and red around it that it gives Tony pause.

But he shrugs it off because he didn’t even get to say goodbye to Peter. The kid died thinking he was mad at him for crying out loud. And whatever this hunk of metal is, it’s glowing so it must be important and therefore he rips it out. 

The creature shrieks and flails wildly, knocking Sam out of the sky and ramming into a nearby building where it twitches and screams. The glowing metal clump sends out a pulse of energy strong enough to knock Tony back into the street and it must have self-destructed or something because he doesn’t see the thing once he lands.

The creature continues to twitch and scream so Tony gets back to his feet and burns away at its chest until he finds what looks like its heart and puts his foot through it. 

No one stops him and he’s grateful for that, he’s not sure what he would have done if someone tried to stop him. 

But he doesn’t feel better now that the thing is dead. It doesn’t bring Peter back. It just takes away the target of his rage. 

There’s no one to be angry at now and so the devastation creeps in. 

Someone will need to tell May. Probably him. Probably now. Before she sees it on the news or reads it on the internet. 

So he ignores Rhodey, and Steve, and their empty apologies and heads to May’s apartment. She’s waiting for him. She flings the door open when he takes too long to knock and asks in a tone that tells him she already knows the answer, “is it true?”

When he nods he expects her to hit him. To get angry. But she just cries and lets her knees hit the floor. 

He drops down next to her and resists the urge to put his hand out and comfort her. Memories of the last Parker he tried to reassure keep him from reaching out. 

“Is there-“ She manages between sobs, “Is there a body? Am I going to get to bury my baby?”

Tony nods stiffly. He hasn’t even thought that far ahead. He supposes he’ll have to. He doesn’t want May to need to take care of this. Not when she’s clearly relieved by the simple fact that she won’t need to bury an empty casket. The only thing she’ll have to do is show up. He’s going to make sure this woman who has lost everyone close to her is set for the rest of her life. 

When she finally tells him to go home it’s late and she hasn’t completely stopped crying. He tells her he’s sorry. She says she knows. 

It doesn’t make it okay.

When he gets back to the tower everything is numb. He knows he should be in pain. He should be feeling something. But he left his emotions on fifth avenue with the corpse of the thing that murdered Peter.

Pepper is waiting for him. She’s standing at the sink in the kitchen, watching the dirty dishes from this morning like they might disappear if she concentrates hard enough.

When she sees Tony she cries and that in itself is unsettling because she rarely cries so it must be bad. Tony holds her because that’s what he should have done for Peter but he didn’t and so his kid died scared and sorry for something that wasn’t his fault.

It takes a while, but Pepper finally cries herself to sleep in Tony’s arms. He doesn’t move despite not wanting to stay in bed. He’s lays there until the feeling comes back and he’s frozen by guilt and sadness. He doesn’t mean to start crying too but he’s pretty sure he does.

And by the time the clock hits 12 he’s asleep.


	2. Day 2

2.

Tony wakes up on the couch in the lab. He knows he didn’t go to sleep there. He assumes he woke up to drink away the pain last night and somehow ended up here. Probably because it was Peters favorite place in the tower.

Peter.

The thought of the kid sends a fresh wave of pain through and Tony thinks he must not have drank nearly enough if he’s still feeling this now.

He groans and sits up, glancing around the lab. It looks the same way it did yesterday. Nothing’s changed. Except Peter is gone now. So everything has changed.

The blanket Peter left for him yesterday is still on the couch and Tony lets it fall to the floor as he stands and shuffles in the direction of the kitchen.

He needs alcohol. It’s likely still early in the morning but he won’t last the day without something stronger than coffee. 

He lets the feeling guide him to the living room where he knows he has a bottle of whiskey tucked away in a cabinet.

It takes him a bit of searching to find it but when he finally does he pops it open without thinking and is two seconds from attempting to drain the bottle when he hears a noise behind him.

He turns to find Pepper standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, staring at him in confusion.

“What’s wrong? Honey, you look terrible,” Pepper asks, voice steeped with worry.

She looks down at the bottle in his hand and continues, “Tony is that whiskey? What is going on?”

Tony is floored. How can she stand there and pretend everything’s okay when just last night she cried with him for hours before either of them finally fell asleep.

“Mr. Stark?” 

Tony’s head whips towards the direction of the voice.

It can’t be.

It is.

Peter stands next to Pepper, looking the same as he did yesterday down to the pan of scrambled eggs in his hand. He looks confused.

“Peter.” Tony breathes.

“Uhm, yeah?” Peter asks, “Are you okay Mr. Stark?”

Pepper gives him a pointed look and he shoves the bottle behind his back, placing it on the counter behind him.

“Yeah, no yeah everything’s great kid. Just a nightmare. I’m fine I promise.” He assures them.

Is that what it was? Just a nightmare? The whole thing felt so real. But Peter’s here again and he’s definitely not dead so it must have been a dream right?

He floats through the morning exactly the way he did in his dream. The scene plays out almost exactly the same. At 9:30 he steals Peters breakfast. At 11:30 Pepper leaves for her board meeting. At 12 he and Peter sit down for a movie.

And at 1, shield calls.

Peter follows him out of the tower despite his direct orders for the kid to leave.

“Go home Peter,” he says when the kid catches up and swings past him on third.

“Go home Peter,” he says as he spots a puff of smoke in the distance.

“Go home Peter,” he says as they pass the first block of broken buildings and destruction leading up to the scene of the fight.

Each time he has to repeat himself his frustration grows. And Peter continues towards the fight no matter how many times he says it so he decides it’s time to make a definitive stand before they reach the thick of things.

He won’t let the day continue like they did in his incredibly realistic deeply terrifying dream. Peter will not enter this fight and he will not die saving random civilians on the street. 

“Peter.” Tony says, swooping in to grip the kids arm and yank him onto a nearby rooftop.

“What?” Peter asks, a bit breathless from swinging.

“Go home.” Tony says.

“What are you talking about? We’re already here. I can’t leave now.” Peter says, he doesn’t think Tony is being serious.

So Tony tells him, “I’m serious Peter leave now or I will carry you all the way back to your Aunt in Queens and watch her ground you for the rest of the year.”

“You’re joking,” Peter says, and now he sounds annoyed.

“Try me.” Tony says, flipping the faceplate up so Peter can see just how serious he is. 

Peter glances around before pulling his mask off so he can level Tony with a glare of his own.

“I’m not leaving. The fight is right there and you guys need me.”

“Not today, not on this one, kid," Tony replies firmly.

“How do you know? Look, there are people down there who need my help I’m not leaving.”

“Peter!” Tony yells, aware that his volume is 10 times louder than it has to be but unable to control it, “Go home now!”

Peter stares at him defiantly, jaw clenched, eyes burning, alive.

“I deserve to be here. Just like everybody else,” he says quietly, fifteen years old and already better at controlling his temper than a grown man.

Fifteen years old.

“You are in over your head.” Tony seethes, “And I’m sending you home.”

Peter opens his mouth to argue but Tony waves over Clint -he has kids he’ll understand- and says, “Barton, kid’s fifteen, I’m sending him home. Make sure he gets there.”

“Fifteen?” Clint asks at the same time Peter shouts an indignant “Mr. Stark!”

“Yep,” Tony says, “I’m trusting you on this one, don’t bungle it.”

He waits long enough to see Clint nod before shooting off towards the same beast he lost to yesterday.

But he knows better this time. Burning through the armor? That worked. Without having to fear for Peters life this should be a cake-walk. And it is a cake-walk. 

Until he gets the call from Clint.

“I lost Spiderman.” Clint says.

Tony, halfway done burning through the chest plate, freezes, seized by fear.

“What?” He shouts.

“Little bastard got the better of me,” Clint says but he doesn’t sound angry, if anything he sounds impressed, definitely not as terrified as he should be in the moment.

“Friday, find Spiderman.” Tony orders, “Clint I swear to all things holy I will end you if he gets hurt because you couldn’t keep up with a fifteen-year-old kid.”

“Relax Tony,” Clint says, “The kid is Spiderman, and he’s clearly capable of handling himself. I’m rejoining the fight.”

“Spiderman located on fifth avenue, 700 feet behind you,” Friday says and Tony’s heart nearly stops then and there.

“Is he alive?” Tony chokes out, “Get in contact with Karen. Patch me through to his suit.”

“Done,” Friday says.

“Peter?” Tony asks.

“Uh hey Mr. Stark,” Peter answers sheepishly.

“Kid I thought I made it very clear you were going home,” Tony says, trying not to feel too relieved yet, Peter’s still in the line of fire here.

“Yeah well, I didn’t. So what’s the situation?” Peter asks, not sounding guilty in the slightest.

Tony takes a deep breath in and forces himself to calm down. At least if Peter’s here he can keep an eye on him. And he died on fifth 700 feet behind Tony yesterday so maybe they’re in the clear now that the moment’s passed. Maybe yesterday was one long meaningless dream after all or just a fluke or something.

“Alright,” Tony says finally, “This things got armor about a foot thick, I’ve been burning through it while The Captain and Natasha keep it distracted from the ground. War Machine and Birdbrain are covering the air, you-”

Tony doesn’t get to finish his sentence. He’s sent flying into the side of a building by a giant armored monster arm. The suit crashes into the third floor and falls to the ground in seconds sending pieces of rubble and glass flying. There’s no warning, or maybe there’s too many warnings and that’s the problem, but either way Tony doesn’t see the chunk of concrete until it’s too late. He attempts to roll out of the way but barely manages to avoid being skewered through the faceplate. Instead the rebar in the chunk slams through his leg, pinning it beneath the concrete block.

Tony can’t help it, he cries out in pain as the same chunk of concrete that killed Peter yesterday takes him out of the fight today. 

As soon as the scream is out of his mouth, he regrets it. The scream does two things at once. One, it alerts whatever demon they’re fighting to his situation and the thing quickly stumbles in his direction probably to finish him off. And two, it draws the attention of one Peter Parker, who stupidly throws himself between the beast and Tony in the five seconds it takes for the thing to close the distance and take aim.

“Peter!” Tony yells but it’s too late.

The monster picks up a nearby metal beam and rams it through Peter’s chest hard enough to lift the kid off the ground.

“Peter!” Tony yells again, struggling against the concrete block, “Peter!”

“Friday do something!” He yells, turning to blast away at the chunk of rock keeping him from moving.

“Karen is reporting catastrophic damage.” Friday tells him, “I’ve contacted emergency services but it is not likely anyone will arrive in time.”

“No!” Tony shouts.

He manages to blast away enough of the rock and stands, dragging the piece of rebar with him as he rushes to where the monster has flung the teen aside.

The remaining avengers have doubled down in their attacks and are managing to push back at the beast but Tony doesn’t care. His only objective is getting to Peter. 

He reaches the kid but finds no signs of life.

“Fiday let me out of the suit let me out.” He gasps.

“It is impossible for me to remove the full suit with the metal rod still in your leg, Boss,” She says, “And I don’t recommend remov-“

But Tony’s already yanked the thing out and is slipping out of the suit onto the street next to his kid.

He’s bleeding heavily but he doesn’t care. He yanks the mask off of Peters head and again finds a sight he wishes he hadn’t.

Instead of bruising and bloodied eyes Peters face is incredibly pale. The white of his skin matches his wide-open eyes and his mouth moves like he’s gasping for air but can’t get any. 

He glances wildly at Tony and his eyes lock onto his face. He’s terrified, Tony realizes. He’s terrified and he’s dying and it’s all happening again.

Tony’s arm shoots out mechanically, his hand moving through Peter’s hair in a weak mimicry of the way it did yesterday in the same situation.

“Peter.” He says, swallowing hard, “Why’d you do that kiddo?”

Peter doesn’t answer. Can’t answer. But he turns his head away from Tony, letting it slump against the asphalt and that’s worse somehow.

“Peter,” Tony begs, “Come on, I’m not mad, don’t do this.”

Peter’s not moving. Not breathing. And Tony knows what he’ll find if he searches for a pulse so he doesn’t.

“Peter, please.” He says.

His own vision is going dark around the edges and he vaguely remembers the pain in his leg and rebar on the ground next to him.

A woman screams in the distance. 

An ambulance wails with her.

Tony tries to force himself to stay awake. Tries again to wake Peter.

Tony fails.

Things aren’t like yesterday. He doesn’t go to May’s apartment to break the news. He doesn’t begin funeral arrangements so that the woman he’s left with no one won’t have to. He doesn’t go home at night. 

He goes directly to the hospital to be treated for his leg injury. There’s no talk of how to fix the hole in his heart that opened with Peters death. He shouts at Clint until his throat is sore but it doesn’t fix anything either. It doesn’t bring Peter back.

But then, some things are the same. He still has to tell May, she comes to him for answers. He still holds Pepper as she cries. He still cries himself to sleep. 

And he still wakes up on the couch in the lab in the morning.


	3. Day 3

This time he isn’t as surprised to see Peter in the kitchen.

It still knocks the wind out of him for several seconds, but it doesn’t send him spiraling into a confused daze as he goes through the day.

Breakfast. Pepper leaves. A movie. Shield calls. 

This time, Tony takes the call in a separate room. In fact, he goes sixteen floors away from Peter just to be sure the kid won’t hear.

Then when Hill finishes her rundown, he goes back upstairs and tells Peter that Pepper needs him at the meeting after all. He gives Peter the option, go home or hang out in the lab while he’s gone.

Killing the monster this time shouldn’t take more than an hour. He’ll be back in no time.

Peter agrees to go back to his Aunts and Tony breathes a sigh of relief. No Peter this time. No danger.

He suits up and heads into battle, confident that this time will be the last. Peter’s death is the only constant in the past two days so his survival has to be what breaks the loop right?

It can’t have been more than ten minutes after Peter left when he arrives on the scene.

But apparently ten minutes is more than enough.

Rhodey is waiting for him just outside the few blocks he knows the creature is currently in. He flags Tony down onto a nearby rooftop where he waits patiently for Tony to land in front of him.

“Tony,” he says, “Go home.”

“What?” Tony asks.

He knows the monster is fairly easy to take down, but he’s had two days practice and the avengers on scene hadn’t been able to beat the beast alone yet.

He supposes there’s a first time for everything though and is seconds from shrugging it off and going to check on the kid at his aunts when a loud boom followed by a familiar shriek rings out from behind Rhodey.

Clearly the monster is not as dead as he’s been led to believe. 

Tony shoots a confused look at his friend. Usually it’s easier to tell when the man is lying to him given their lengthy history but for some reason this one slipped past him. 

“What’s going on here?” He asks, trying to keep his tone even.

Rhodey shakes his head, “The situation is under control, Tony-”

“Don’t tell me to go home Rhodey. What is going on here?” Tony repeats, Rhodey is holding something back he knows it. 

It’s only when he hears the familiar screaming from the woman that never seems to shut up that he realizes what Rhodey’s keeping him from.

“Is it- Is it Peter?” He asks, struggling to keep his voice steady past the lump in his throat. 

He doesn’t want it to be true. He sent the kid home for crying out loud. He should have been safe.

“Steve is with him,” Rhodey says quietly, confirming what Tony already knows, “He’s not alone. Trust me Tony, you don’t want to see this. Just go home.”

“Is he still alive?” Tony asks, and his own words sound distant in his ears, like someone else is speaking them.

Rhodey gives a reluctant nod, “Yeah. But Steve says he doesn’t know how much longer.”

“Then I have to see him,” Tony says, “Where Rhodey?”

Rhodey purses his lips.

“Where?”

Rhodey sighs but shoots a meaningful look at the street behind them, “street corner about a block that way. In front of that pizza joint Sam likes.”

Tony nods gratefully and takes a step towards the edge of the building, ready to drop down and go find the kid.

“Tony-” Rhodey puts a hand out as if to stop him.

“Rhodes so help me I will throw you off this building.” Tony warns him, taking another step and allowing Friday to map out exactly how he will follow through on his threat.

Fortunately, Rhodey steps out of the way before he has to, but the look on his friend’s face is sad. Tony nods at him, trying to be reassuring despite the fact that his stomach has sunk into his boots and steps off the side of the building, his suit carrying him through the motions as he searches for what he already knows he’s going to find. 

Karen didn’t alert him this time. It should have been impossible for her not to. He’s specifically written protocols for any situation more violent than a paper cut. He should have been the first to know if Peter was dying. It should be him down there on the street, not Steve.

He lands in front of the pizza place, not wasting any time stepping out of the suit and onto the wrecked pavement. Dented cars and remnants of buildings cover the street. Off in the distance a woman is screaming. A plume of smoke rises in the direction of the creature. The scene is so similar to the past two days that Tony already feels the ache in his heart that comes with losing Peter.

Steve sits hunched over on the sidewalk holding a still figure in his arms and Tony immediately understands why Karen never alerted him. The suit is a mess, practically ripped to shreds in every place that it counts. And the mask isn’t even on Peters head. If he wasn’t certain it was Peter Steve was holding, he wouldn’t have recognized the kid at all.

“What-” Tony swallows hard and drops to his knees next to Steve and Peter. 

This time he doesn’t reach out for Peter’s hair, instead he reaches for the kids hand and folds it between both of his. 

“What happened?” He asks.

Steve’s eyes are shining with unshed tears when he meets Tony’s gaze and he shakes his head, unable to find the words. Tony wants to demand he look harder but when he drops his focus down to Peter he finds the kid is already staring at him.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asks, and his voice is so weak that Tony has to lean down to hear his kid better.

“Hey Pete,” Tony says, trying to keep his tone light and his voice from shaking, “What happened to going home?” 

“Got sidetracked,” Peter chokes out, forcing a small smile, “Sorry.”

“No kid. Don’t say sorry.” Tony begs.

“I- um,” Peter swallows thickly and struggles to come up with the next words, “I don’t want to die.” 

There’s a loud roar in the distance and the screaming woman's voice is cut off abruptly.

The sudden disappearance of the noise makes the following silence that much heavier. Peter’s clearly expecting some sort of response. He stares up at Tony with desperation in his eyes after he finishes speaking, but Tony doesn’t know what to say.

He should reassure Peter. He should take the kid from Steve and tell him everything will be okay even though he knows it’s won’t. He should hold him until he dies so he can pretend that he even tried to save him this time.

But instead he sits there in painful silence as Peter slips away, once again scared and alone.

Only later, after he’s burned his way through the creature’s heart, after he’s heard May cry for hours, after he’s held Pepper until she fell asleep, only when he gets up to pore over suit records and traffic cameras does he realize here he went wrong. 

Peter sees the smoke rising in the distance from the rooftop of a nearby building as he swings home. It occurs to Tony that Peter could probably hear some of the noise created by the fight too. The kid is on the scene and throwing himself into the fight before Tony has even left the tower. 

Tony watches as the beast grabs Peter midair and slams him through twenty floors of office space before it tosses him onto the street.

He should have told Peter to stay at the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might take me a bit longer to get to chapter 4. I'm not sure yet if I want to write out a long chapter for it or just cut it short. I don't want to wear you guys out on the whole repeat day thing as I already have longer chapters for days 5 and 6. If I cut chapter 4 short though I'll definitely post chapter 5 with it. Thank you all so much for reading and leaving such encouraging comments and kudos! I appreciate it so much.


	4. Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally just going to make this chapter super short but I felt like I should write out what happens because it would be too confusing to try to fit it into the next chapter. So here have a medium kinda sorta filler chapter! Feel free to skip this one if you want to. I plan on 2 more death chapters before I start fixing things. Also I'd like to thank everyone who left a comment and kudos! You guys are the reason I'm finishing this <3

Telling Peter to stay in the lab turns out to be just as useless as sending him back to his Aunts. In fact, doing so results in the most devastating outcome thus far.

The day doesn’t start poorly, in fact it starts better than any day so far.

He manages to convince Pepper to stay home from her meeting and watch movies with him and Peter which any other time he would have been thrilled about. 

It would have been a literal dream come true, the three of them squished onto the same couch sharing a bowl filled with enough popcorn to feed a small army. 

But throw in the knowledge of Peter’s impending doom and it’s enough to keep Tony on the edge of his seat the whole time, waiting for shields call.

When the call does come, he follows the same precaution as the day before, this time knowing Pepper will likely follow to make sure everything is okay.

She does and he tells her about the battle and the beast and the avengers on the scene. He asks her to stay with Peter in the lab. Make sure he doesn’t leave. Make sure he’s not in any danger. She waits patiently until he finishes and nods with so much understanding in her warm blue eyes that he actually tells her the rest of the story. The part where this day has already happened before, the part where he’s fought this beast three times over, the part where it kills Peter every single time. And by some miracle, she believes him. 

She tells him to go, she’ll make sure Peter is safe, and that’s that. Problem solved.

Until it isn’t.

Until Peter swings across his field of vision.

Until the woman in the background starts screaming.

Until Friday tells him about the catastrophic damage and the too slow emergency services.

And after Peter’s dead, after he’s killed the monster, after he goes looking for May and Pepper, he gets the call from a nearby hospital about the accident. 

Pepper was out looking for Peter when she died. 

She must have tried to find him after he snuck out. It was a case of wrong place wrong time. Or at least, that’s what the accident report reads. But it’s because of Tony that she even got in the car in the first place. If he hadn’t told her what the stakes were, she would have called for help before putting herself in danger.

It’s his fault that she dies.

By 12 Tony has long since passed out on the living room floor.

He wakes up on the couch in the lab.


	5. Day 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so 2 more chapters of whump then I promise I'm done, I just had too much fun writing this. I knows it's not exactly a mystery spot au per se, or it is just without any of the fun, so I kind of feel like a liar but thanks for sticking with me so far! TW for brief thoughts of suicide. Like just the first 2 paragraphs.

On the fifth day Tony wakes up still shaking from the fourth. As the blanket slides to the floor he wonders what would happen if he just ended it now. Would the day reset immediately? Or would it all finally be over?

He ultimately decides against killing himself, if he dies there’s no guarantee Peter won’t, and he can’t risk Peter dying permanently just because he can’t make it to 12:00 without him.

So, he goes through the day mindlessly completing all the tasks at hand before he knows to expect the call from shield.

Pepper eyes him at breakfast, clearly, she’s worried, but he doesn’t have the energy to comfort her today.

Peter sends cautious glances in his direction throughout the movie and he pretends he doesn’t notice so he won’t have to muster up the will to lie to him about how he’s feeling. 

Maria Hill even tells him when she calls that if he can’t put aside whatever is bothering him for the greater good then he shouldn’t come, and he thinks that might be her odd way of making sure he’s not going to throw himself into the creature’s path first chance he gets.

Of course, he’d do that in a heartbeat if it meant Peter got to live.

He lets Peter tag along this time. If the last two failures have taught him anything, it’s practically useless to fight him on this. Even when Peter isn’t immediately alerted to the fight he still shows up. It’s easier just to let him come along. Besides, this must be how he survives. Both times Tony left Peter behind he died before Tony reached him. And he definitely does not want a repeat of yesterday.

This time, instead of throwing himself headfirst into the fight, he hangs back. The creature’s not so tough, the avengers could probably beat it without him given more time. He scans the surroundings for Peter and keeps a close watch over him. He gets a few good hits on the beast anytime it comes too close to Peter but otherwise does not engage. 

It’s working until Peter hesitates for a second too long from where he’s stuck to the side of a building. 

The creature sees it’s opening and throws an arm out at the kid too fast and too sudden for Tony to block.

Tony throws himself at Peter, shielding him from the brunt of the hit as they’re sent flying by the creature’s massive arm. He holds Peter close as they slam through a building and fall to the concrete several stories below them. 

The force of the landing knocks the power out of Tony’s suit- or maybe the shard of reinforced glass in his chest plate is what does it- either way Peter is thrown from his arms and rolls onto the street as the suit loses all functionality.

Tony’s ears are ringing and he fights back the black that tinges the edge of his vision. He manages to turn his head just enough to where he can see Peter laying on his back just out of reach.

He’s a sitting duck here trapped inside the world’s most expensive tin can while a creature the size of a ferry boat lumbers towards him. But if Peter’s survived and can escape then he counts the day as a win.

“Kid?” He calls.

Peter lies off to his left, unmoving and unresponsive and Tony tries not to panic. He could just be knocked out, he could still be alive.

“Kid?!” He tries again, louder this time.

The woman is screaming in the background again, making it harder for him to hear any response from Peter. He can actually see the outline of her figure a few hundred feet behind the kids body. If his repulsors were working, he could probably hit her from here. 

Instead, he raises his voice a third time, “Peter!”

Peter turns to face him slowly and Tony’s high hopes come crashing down. There’s a piece of reinforced glass embedded into the side of Peters neck. Every time he breathes or swallows more blood slips past the glass and onto the street under his head.

“Okay,” Tony says, trying to remain calm despite the fact that he can hear the monster getting closer and Peter is in no shape to run, “It’s okay you’re okay, just listen to me okay Pete? I’m going to need you to do exactly what I say.”

The kid’s hands come up shaking as he reaches for the glass.

“No! Don’t pull it out-”

Peter rips the shard of glass from his neck. 

There’s so much blood. 

There’s so much blood and Peter is choking on it. 

He looks at Tony as if asking for help but Tony can’t move. The suit is a metal prison. He can’t even reach out to Peter as he lies dying next to him. He’s less than two feet away and he’s going to die alone. 

The light leaves Peter’s eyes, his head slumps back to the ground, and he’s gone.

Again. 

Tony forgets to care as the creature barrels toward him. He lets it crush every bone in his body, feels his spine snap under the pressure, tastes the metal of the suit as it forces it’s way through skin.

It’s easier this way. Less painful than living on in a world where Peter is dead. 

It’s selfish, but he’s glad he won’t have to hear May’s sobs today and he’s glad he won’t have to hold Pepper through the night while he waits in agony for the day to reset.

Will the day even reset if it ends like this?

The part of him that wants to wake up tomorrow when Peter will be okay again is drowned out by the desperate need for this whole thing to be over. 

And when it all fades to black, he hopes it doesn’t.

He wakes up on the couch in the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to be self-conscious on main but I definitely feel like this chapter is a bit weak. Hoping chapter 6 makes up for it. It's pretty different from the first 5 days this time so I'm excited!


	6. Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I've been having a tough time lately and any other time I would have just abandoned this fic and moved on but honestly the comments and kudos I get on this keep me going. I don't usually respond to comments due to various anxiety problems but I want you to know I've read every single one and I'm so thankful.

The sixth time around Tony locks Peter in a closet in the tower. He tells him “this is for your own good” and Peter tells him exactly where he can stick it. The kid is going to be mad for a while, Tony knows, but he’ll get over it. And he’ll be alive which is most important. 

Tony follows the day as he always does; gets the call from shield, goes to battle with the beast, burns through the armor, shoots the thing through its massive ugly heart.

He even finds the screaming woman before she is crushed by the falling body and flies her to safety, placing her down three streets away.

She spits at him as soon as he does and runs off in the other direction.

He watches her go and wipes the spit from his helmet. He guesses there’s no pleasing some people.

And when he returns to the tower, Peter is still furious, but he’s alive and that’s all that matters. 

Tony watches him as he shoves his suit into his backpack and zips it with as much force as he can muster. 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Peter says.

“Sorry kid,” Tony shrugs.

“You’re not.” Peter replies.

“I’m not.” Tony agrees.

Peter finishes angrily cleaning his workspace from the night before and then slings his backpack over his shoulder, whirling on Tony.

The look in his eyes is so similar to the one he had on the second day, the day he was run through with a traffic pole, that Tony is caught off guard for a few moments and has to remind himself to keep breathing. 

Peter survived this time. No impalements, no twenty story drops, no shards of glass or lines of rebar. He’s breathing and unharmed and enraged, but alive.

“What if someone got hurt today and I wasn’t there to save them?” Peter demands.

“You didn’t need to be there Peter. I had everything under control, no one was going to die today.” Tony says calmly.

‘No one except you.’ 

“You don’t know that.” Peter tells him, getting increasingly frustrated with each word.

‘I do.’ 

“Peter, you need to calm down.” Tony says, trying not to be annoyed with the tone Peter is using, it’ll help nothing if they both lose their tempers.

“Don’t tell me to calm down I’m not a kid.” Peter shouts because of course that was the wrong thing to say. 

“You are a kid.” Tony matches Peters volume, screw not losing their tempers.

‘You’re my kid.’

“Maybe, but I’m a kid with superpowers,” Peter insists, “I honestly thought we were past all this Mr. Stark but nothing’s changed. You don’t trust me in a fight, and you never will.”

“I’m just trying to keep you safe, Peter.” Tony says.

“I can keep myself safe. I don’t need you.” Peter replies and he turns on his heel, storming off towards the elevators.

“Oh yeah? Well what if you died?” Tony shouts after him, “What then genius?”

Peter stops in his tracks. His finger hovers over the ‘call elevator’ button. He turns slowly his expression is set. He’s not sorry and neither is Tony.

“Then I die a hero,” Peter says, “I’m sorry if you can’t handle that.”

He jabs the button and steps into the elevator, still fuming.

When the doors slide shut, Tony grabs a nearby screwdriver off the workbench and chucks it across the lab. Even when he does everything right, he’s still wrong. He saved Peter today, but he can’t help feeling like he lost him anyways.

And when Friday tells him about the hit and run outside the tower, he knows he has.

He gets there as soon as he can but it’s still not soon enough.

“Peter!” He shouts, pushing through the crowd of people gathering around the kid and dropping to his knees.

“Call 911! Somebody call an ambulance!” He yells up at anyone who’s within earshot.

They’re all just standing there. No one’s bothered to stop gawking and actually help his kid. It’s unbelievable, he would sue every last one of them if he wasn’t certain the day was about to reset.  
He hears murmurs from the crowd and sees a few of them with phones out. Are they calling for help? Peter needs an ambulance. Someone needs to call for help.

“Everybody get back! Give the kid some room.” A voice interrupts, pushing through the group of strangers waiting to watch Peter die. 

Looking up at the newcomer, Tony is grateful to see Happy directing the crowd. It’s good to see a familiar face, one that’s not dying or grieving. Tony almost doesn’t want to turn his focus back to Peter, he knows the kid will be staring straight back at him, waiting to say whatever horrifying thing he’s thinking at the moment of this death. But he can’t bring himself to abandon Peter like that, especially not after how they left things in the lab. It can’t end like this today even if tomorrow starts fresh.

So Tony forces himself to meet Peters eyes.

The kid is barely holding it together. Tony can see the pain on his face and the blood on his shirt. A large cut stretches across his ribcage and Tony presses shaking hands against it, ignoring the strangled cry Peter fails to hold back. Even though he knows in the back of his mind it’s futile, he still has to try to save Peter.

“I- I didn’t see it coming. I felt something wrong but-” Peter chokes on the sentence and Tony presses harder on the gash in his kids’ side.

“I was so mad. I thought it was just you or Happy following me out. I didn’t think-”

“Pete, stop talking,” Tony says, partly because he can’t hear any more of this and partly because the more Peter talks the more he bleeds.

“Sorry.” Peter says and Tony wants to break something.

How do they always end up here? Peter dying, apologizing, Tony searching for the right words to say.

Peter coughs and then cries out in pain, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I can’t believe,” Peter says, “After everything, this is- this is how I’m-”

And he starts to cry.

“No, Peter please,” Tony pleads, “Don’t cry, please.”

The woman screams in the background and Tony is grateful for the noise this time. It drowns out the sounds of Peter’s sobs.

He cries all the way up until he takes his last breath and it’s horrible. Tony would rather see May and Pepper mourn Peter’s death 100 times than watch Peter die in tears even just once.

He was supposed to be safe today. He was supposed to be out of harms way. How could it have possibly ended like this?

When the day comes to an end, he thinks it might be time to consider that this is a punishment of some sort. Maybe this is hell. Maybe he died that first day and he’s been living it in repeat as some sort of torture for his sins. 

He doesn’t know what he did to deserve this.

Pepper cries softly next to him in bed. She thinks he can’t hear but he does. She thinks he’s heartless for not crying. The truth is that he doesn’t think he can anymore. He’s tried everything and still failed. He’s out of options and out of energy.

But he still wakes up on the couch in the lab, ready to try again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I kind of lied about this being a mystery spot au lol. It's more like an edge of tommorrow au. They're both so similar though that it is what it is.


	7. Day 12

He pieces it together on the twelfth day.

It comes to him while he sits next to Peters broken body, listening to the sounds of the fight echo around him. 

The woman is not screaming. 

She always screams. Everything else about today he’s been able to change. Everything from the time Pepper leaves to the suit Peter wears to the place Peter dies. Everything can change. Everything except for Peter’s death. And except for the screaming. 

But there’s no screaming today.

So, he rises to his feet and searches his surroundings for the woman. He knows her face by now. He’s saved her in at least three yesterdays. 

She’s standing on the sidewalk about a block away, staring at Peter’s body and Tony has to force himself to walk away from the kid, every step heavier than the last. It never gets easier to leave Peter.  
The woman sees him coming, clearly realizing he’s looking at her and not the destruction around her. For a moment he thinks she’s going to run but she doesn’t. She waits patiently for him to make his way to her.

He stands in front of her trying to look intimidating. He feels vulnerable without the iron man suit, but he had to take it off when Peter…

“Why aren’t you screaming.” Tony asks. 

He doesn’t have the time or the emotional bandwidth to think of any gentler way to phrase it.

She looks at him oddly, like he’s crazy, and maybe he is but it’s not her place to judge.

“What?” She asks, her accent is strange.

“I said,” Tony tries again, slower this time, emphasis on every word, “Why aren’t you screaming?” 

She glares at him but doesn’t say anything.

“Answer me.” Tony says, “Answer the question or-”

“Oh please.” She interrupts, her voice surprisingly angry, “Save your threats. What can you do to me? I’ll be back tomorrow like everyone else.”

It’s taking Tony a lot longer process her words at the moment, so he fills the silence with a dull, “What?”  
She shakes her head at him in disgust, “Why bother? You won’t remember this.”

His brain finally catches up with what he’s hearing and then has to race to keep up with what he’s seeing, which is the woman turning and walking away like they’re done here. His hand darts out, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back.

“You know what’s happening here.” He says, “With the resetting and the looping and the every day is today.”

“Of course.” She replies.

“So then you know how to stop it.”

She scoffs, “No.”

Tony’s his grip to the point where it should hurt. The woman, whoever she is, is being far too flippant about this whole thing in the presence of someone who has nothing to lose.

“You listen to me,” He says, keeping his voice low so she knows he’s serious, “If you’re like me and you know what’s going on, then you know I will come back tomorrow, and I will remember everything, and I will be pissed. The first thing I’m going to do is hunt you down and maybe you won’t tell me how to fix this tomorrow, maybe not even the day after, but I’m giving it a week or two before you’re a hell of a lot more talkative.”

She glares at him murderously.

“You think I’m enjoying this?” She hisses, “I watch that poor boy die every day. Not to mention I’ve died myself a few times.”

“You might not be enjoying it, but you’re sure as shit not trying to stop it.” He replies.

“I can’t.” She snaps.

“Sure you can, there’s got to be a reason you’re stuck here too.” Tony says, “And I don’t want to be doing this so it must be you and I want out of this loop. Now.”

“It is not so simple.” The woman wrenches her arm back from him, “To stop this, I would need my ring.”

“What ring?”

“The one you stole from my pet when you murdered him the first day.” 

Tony almost laughs at that.

“What?” He asks, gesturing behind him at the body of the creature, “That thing is your pet?”

“Obviously. And you had no right to kill him.” She seethes.

“Yeah well your pet tore a hole in my city and my kid, I’m sorry if I didn’t feel like giving it a treat.” 

“I would not have let your child die,” She says, and for the first time since they started this whole thing, she wears an expression of regret.

But when she speaks up again her voice is hard and accusing, “I would have fixed it. But then you pulled us into this loop and until you find whatever it is, you’re searching for it will never end.”

Tony’s anger falters. If he’s not mistaken, she’s saying he can end the loop himself. Peter doesn’t need to die. But he has to confirm it’s true.

“If I find what I’m looking for. Will he live?”

“Likely.” She says, “But I need that ring, it’s-“

“Yeah I don’t care. I’m sure it’s priceless. Family heirloom. Unimaginable power.”

“Just give it back when you find it.” She snaps.

Tony takes a deep breath and rubs his hand down his face. Because this woman totally seems like the kind of person who needs a hyper-powerful hunk of rock on her finger.

“How do I know you won’t kill me with it when you get it back?” He asks, “How do I know you won’t just turn around and destroy earth?”

“Please. What makes you think I care what happens to this world?” She rolls her eyes, “Earth is so self-important. You aren’t even a third of your own galaxy much less the universe.”

“Fair point.” Tony says.

He takes a moment of consideration to weigh Peters fate against giving overpowered super jewelry to a possibly crazy-no, definitely crazy woman.

“I’ll get you that ring. Keep my kid safe.” He decides.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Do better.”

As he heads home, someone else will tell May today, he’s already come up with several new ways to come at the present problem. He’ll do anything to break out of the loop, but Peter has to survive with him. It would be meaningless if the day ended but Peter still didn’t last through it.

He can find whatever he’s looking for. He doesn’t know what it is yet-probably the ring, although he hasn’t seen it since the first day when he thought it was a chunk of extra shiny metal- but he can save Peter. He can save Peter, and find the ring, and they can all make it to tomorrow finally. He just needs to try harder, needs to come up with new plans and new ways to keep the kid from dying. 

For the first time in a long time, he has hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I recognize this plot is a little silly but I really was just here for the whump and did not expect this fic to get the response that it did(or any response really lol) so I apologize for my poor plot strategy. I haven't read any of the comics as I have no clue where to even start so I didn't want to throw some random villains name in there without really knowing anything about them. Hence 'the woman', she's taking the place of Gabriel in the narrative here.


	8. Days 12-42

“Karen is reporting catastrophic damage. I’ve contacted emergency services but it is not likely anyone will arrive in time.”


	9. Day 43

It isn’t until day 43 that he’s realizes what he’s doing wrong.

Once it clicks, he can’t think of a reason why he didn’t realize it in the first place. The answer is so painfully obvious it makes him want to kick every past version of himself.

Yet he understands why he didn’t see it, why he didn’t want to see it. 

He’s never going to be able to save Peter. Not when what he’d wanted when he yanked whatever magical rock was buried in that monster was a chance to say goodbye. And hadn’t he been given that chance every day since? He’d just never taken it. 

‘Until you find whatever it is you’re searching for it will never end.’

He’s taking that chance today. 

He drops to his knees beside Peter and gathers the kid in his arms. Peter makes a small sound of pain at the movement but doesn’t fight back. 

“Hey kiddo,” Tony says gently.

Peters eyes are unfocused and confused but he seems to recognize Tony’s voice and turns his face towards him. 

“C’ldn’t dodge ‘n time. Wasn’t fast ‘nough.” Peter says, bringing his hands up to the wound on his chest, “’M sorry.” 

“It’s okay Pete. I’m not mad at you. It’s okay.” Tony replies and he’s surprised at how unwavering his voice sounds.

Peter whimpers when his hands reach the damage and Tony uses his free hand to catch Peters, pressing a kiss to the kids forehead.

“It’s going to be okay,” He tells Peter, “I’m going to stay right here with you.”

Peter nods but it’s jerky and stiff.

“I love you kid,” Tony says, not at all surprised by how easy the words come or how truthful they sound.

Peter’s eyes slide shut. And though the words feel like acid in his mouth he makes himself say it because it has to end. This has to be over.

“Goodbye Peter.”

He’s not sure what he was expecting would happen. Maybe the end of the world. Maybe a bright flash of light or a bang or an instant reset. But none of these things happen. What does happen is Peter stops breathing. 

There’s nothing special about it. Peter slips away like he’s done every day before and Tony’s left wondering if he even fixed anything at all. Then he sees the light slipping between his fingers, still wrapped around Peters. He lets the kids hand drop and opens his palm to find the same ridiculously bright yellow rock he’d ripped out of the creature on the first day. 

On getting a closer look, it doesn’t even really look like a ring. It’s misshapen and thicker than his thumb. 

He can’t picture the finger it’s supposed to go on not that he really cares. He has the ring. The loop is over, Peter is dead.

He looks down at the kid and wonders where he went wrong. After everything, this can’t be how it ends. It’s over, it has to be, but Peter’s still dead so it will never be over.

Someone kneels next to him but he can’t bring himself to tear his eyes away from Peter. 

Even when the womans hand closes around Tonys he doesn’t look up at her, just lets her take the rock from him so he can wrap both arms around Peter. Belatedly, he realizes he’s crying and he wonders when the hell that started.

The woman stands and looks down at Tony with a sympathetic expression.

“This is your last chance Stark.” She says softly, “Make it count.” 

He wakes up on the couch in the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I finished a fic! With the amount of fanfic I have started and just never finished this feels like a huge accomplishment for me.  
> I might actually mess around and make one more chapter but it’ll be kind of an epilogue. So I’m going to mark this as finished even though it’s technically not. Can't promise a quick update because I'm kind of struggling mentally right now but I promise I will try.  
>  I kind of want to start a new au. I’ve been playing a LOT of the last of us recently I’d love to do something with that, but then I have a fic about Peter and Morgan I’ve been writing for a while and it’s kind of my pet project. So who knows. Thank you so much for sticking with me and reading this all the way through! You’re wonderful!

**Author's Note:**

> Woops here we go y'all. I know these fics can get pretty tedious so I'll try to keep this brief. Let me know what you think in the comments or just leave a kudos. Anything helps :)


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